Binding machine

ABSTRACT

A machine for binding bundles of preferably wire rod material with wire includes a carriage on which the binding unit is mounted for movement towards and away from the bundle to be bound, the binding unit including a mechanism for feeding the binding wire from a magazine, an openable wire guide track surrounding the bundle to be bound and which serves to guide the wire around the bundle, a wire clamping assembly, a wire twisting assembly and a wire cutting assembly.

O United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,889,584 Wiklund 1 June 17, 1975 [5 1 BINDING MACHINE 3,123,129 11/13/52: Flanigan etal. 100/31 x 3,1 ,0 S 4/1 6 MacKenzie 100/26 [75] Inventor: Olof Bruno WIklund, Bergeforsefl 3,196,779 7/1965 Embree 100/31 X Swede" 3,304,960 2/1967 Keusemann et a1. 100/31 x 3,428,096 2/[969 Krylov et al. IOU/l2 X [73] Ass'gnee' Sundsvan 3,678,845 7/1972 Francois 100/12 x [22] Filed p 25 1973 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 321,890 3/1970 Sweden 100/26 [211 App]. No.: 400,677

Primary Examiner-Billy J. Wilhite Foreign Application Prior), Data Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Pierce, Schefiler & Parker Oct. 17, 1972 Sweden 13398/72 ABSTRACT 52 us. c1 100/26- 100/31 A machine for binding bundles Of Preferably Wire rod 1511 1m. (:1. .1 B b 13/04 material with Wire includes a carriage which [58] Field oi Sarch n 00/3 2 12 26 29 binding unit is mounted for movement towards and 5 6 away from the bundle to be bound, the binding unit including a mechanism for feeding the binding wire 56 R f d from a magazine, an openable wire guide track sur- I UNITE; lrzf g IIJZTENTS rounding the bundle to be bound and which serves to guide the wire around the bundle, a wire clamping as 2,339,395 1/1944 Harvey [00/31 x sembly, a wire twisting assembly and a wire cutting as- 2,8l2,707 ll/l957 Cheesman /31 sembly 2,982,199 5/l96l Jones l0O/3l X 3,060,841 10/1962 Van De Bilt 100/31 4 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures SHEET PATENTEDJUN 11 1915 Fig. 3

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SHEET PATENTEDJUN 17 1915 Fig. 7

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SHEET PATENTEDJUN 1 7 I975 Fig. 10

Fig. 9

PATENTEDJUN17 1975 k I 6 S L 584 SHEET 1O Fig. u

SHEET PATENTEDJUN 17 ms Fig. l2

PATENTEDJUN 17 I 1 SHEET Fig. 13

SHEET PATENTEI] JUN 17 I975 Fig. 14

GU F3 Cu SQ n O PATENTEUJUN 17 ms SHEET Fig. 15

SHEET PATENTEDJUN17 ms W .m F

Fig. 16

BINDING MACHINE This invention relates to a binding machine for binding bundles of preferably wound-off wire rod material by binding with wire, but with a machine according to the invention it is also possible to bind, for example, bar material, logs, sawn timber, pulp bales and the like.

The Swedish patent specification No. 321,890 discloses already a machine for binding bubbles of wire rod, but this machine is restricted by its design to the binding of small wire rod bundles. Latterly, however, it has become desirable to be able to bind also relatively large coils of wound-off wire rod, for example rolled wire in wire rolling mills and the like.

The binding of the bundles with wire is to be preferred to the binding with strip iron, mainly because wire is cheaper. Common unrefined black iron wire is suitable for use. Such wire, of course, is also easily accessible in wire rolling mills.

The binding machine according to the invention comprises a wire feed mechanism, a clamping assembly, twisting assembly, cutting assembly, all of them together constituting a binding unit, and a wire guide track. Said wire guide track consists of two straight longitudinal sides, which at the ends are joined by curved track portions. The track can be dimensioned very large and is then particularly adapted to binding wire rod bundles of great height. The binding takes place rapidly and safely, without giving rise to binding wire waste between the binding turns. Tests have proved that the strength of the tie obtained by the twisting is about as high as that of the binding wire proper.

At the binding of wire coils it may be suitable to apply two binding machines simultaneously.

The characterizing features of the invention become apparent from the enclosed claims.

The binding machine is described in greater detail below, with reference to the Figures.

FIG. 1 shows the binding machine according to the invention, seen from the side in starting position.

FIG. 2 shows a section along AA in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows the machine in binding position.

FIG. 4 shows the binding unit of the machine in the position for wire feed, seen from the front side, i.e. from the side facing the binding object.

FIG. 5 shows the binding unit with wire fed into it.

FIG. 6 shows the binding unit in the position for twisting.

FIG. 7 shows the binding unit subsequent to twisting.

FIG. 8 shows the binding unit in the position for retraction subsequent to completed binding.

FIG. 9 shows the clamping assembly seen from below.

FIG. 10 shows a section along B-B in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 shows the twisting assembly seen from below in starting position with wire fed in.

FIG. 12 shows the twisting assembly in the position for twisting.

FIG. 13 shows the twisting assembly subsequent to twisting and excess twisting.

FIG. 14 shows the twisting assembly subsequent to completed twisting.

FIG. 15 shows the twisting assembly again in starting position where the completed tie is released.

FIG. 16 shows the cutting assembly seen from below.

FIG. 17 shows a section along CC in FIG. 16.

The binding machine comprises in principle a feed mechanism 1, which feeds binding wire 2 from a wire magazine, an openable wire guide track 3 for guiding the wire around the binding object 4, a clamping assembly 5, a twisting assembly 6 and a cutting assembly 7. The entire binding unit including feed mechanism 1, clamping assembly 5, twisting assembly 6 and cutting assembly 7 is placed on a carriage 8 movable by means of a cylinder toward and away from the binding object 4.

The binding object 4 may have the form ofa wire coil (FIG. 2), which is placed about a mandrel 9. The wire coil is thereby compressed by a press (not shown) prior to and/or during the binding operation. Several binding units may be placed about the wire coil for simultaneously binding the coil.

The feed mechanism 1 has in principle the same design as the machine according to the Swedish patent specification No. 32l,890. The mechanism, thus, comprises a driven feed wheel 10 and abutting thereon spring-loaded counter-pressure rollers 11 and a mechanism 12 for sensing when the binding wire is fed in completely, which mechanism comprises a pivotal arm provided with guide rollers adapted to be pivoted about an axle 12a and pressed outward by the binding wire at completed wire feed in. Upon its outward swing the pivotal arm gives an impulse for wire clamping whereafter the feed wheel is reversed for stretching the wire. A number of guide rollers 13, 14 is provided for guiding the wire inward to and, respectively, outward from the feed wheel 10.

The feed mechanism 1 advances the wire through the cutting, twisting and clamping assemblies, from where the wire is moved out into the wire guide track 3. The track consists upwardly and, respectively, downwardly of a guide curve, which comprises rollers with intermediate plates for deflecting the wire. The wire is guided between the guide curves by straight guide bars. Upon stretching of the wire, the wire guide track is opened in that covers 3a, 3b are moved aside. Said covers preferably are spring-loaded, but at the guide bar located above the binding unit the cover 3a is opened by means of a cylinder 15. Prior to said stretching, the cylindercontrolled guide bar is opened. The spring forces are so set and the covers so formed that the wire is released successively from one end of the track to the other.

The clamping assembly 5 (FIGS. 9 and 10) comprises a stationary clamping tool 16, which is provided with a recess 17 with its opening facing the binding object. The recess 17 deflects at the bottom substantially perpendicularly and forms a groove 18, in the innermost portion of which the wire from the feed mechanisn can pass freely. When the wire has been placed around the binding object 4 and again arrives at the clamping assembly, its passage through the outer portion of the groove 18 is obstructed by a stop dog 19 located on the underside of the stationary clamping tool 16. The stop dog is spring-loaded and formed so as to be movable aside and permit the wire from the inner portion of the groove 18 be drawn out in lateral direction. On the underside of the stationary clamping tool 16, besides, a movable clamping tool 20 is located, which clamps the stopped wire end against an edge in the groove 18 above the stop dog 19. Said movable clamping tool 20 is controlled by a cylinder 21.

The twisting assembly 6 (FIGS. 11-15) comprises a guide means for the wire in the form of a spring-loaded cover 22 with two passages for the wire. These passages are located during the wire feed directly in front of the groove 18 in the clamping assembly 5. The twisting assembly further comprises a twisting roller 23 consisting of a gearwheel with a radial slot 24 extending therein to the centre. Between the twisting roller 23 and wire guide cover 22 lies a space directly in front of the recess 17 in the clamping tool 16 and is open inwards to the binding object 4. The entire twisting assembly 6 is movable in lateral direction, preferably by turning a rotary axle 25 disposed spaced from the wire guide cover 22 and the twisting roller 23. The turning is controlled by a cylinder 26. The movement of the twisting assembly causes the cover 22 to spring upward and release the wire loops, which thereafter are enclosed by the slot 24 of the twisting roller 23. Subsequent to the twisting, the twisting assembly is moved back to the starting position. The wire guide cover 22 then does not spring upward but pushes the twisted tie ahead of it.

The twisting roller 23 is driven by a motor, preferably a hydraulic motor, via a gearwheel, which simultaneously acts as an index wheel 27 for counting the number of revolutions. The twisting roller preferably is driven two revolutions plus a certain additional angle for compensating for the spring-back of the twisted wire. The twisting roller is thereafter turned back a corresponding angle.

The tension between the wire and the slot 24 is thereby relieved and, consequently, the wear of the tools can be limited and at the same time the risk of operation breakdowns be reduced. A further advantage is that the tie ends do not spread but extend along the side of the binding object. A suitable excess twisting angle when using 7 mm iron wire is about 30.

The starting position of the twisting roller 23 is determined accurately by a mechanical stop member 28 limiting the rotation of the index wheel 27 in one direction. The ratio between the index wheel and twisting roller is such, that the index wheel at the twisting rotates not quite one revolution. The twisting is controlled by a cam 29 on the index wheel actuating the control roller of a limit switch 30, which has two contact functions. First the index wheel is stopped subsequent to twisting plus excess twisting when the control roller of the switch 30 has rolled up to a predetermined level on the cam 29 and is immediately reversed, and thereafter the index wheel is again stopped when the control roller of the switch 30 has rolled down to a predetermined lower level on the cam 29. The excess twisting then has been restored, and the entire twisting assembly 6 can be moved back to the starting position. The index wheel is finally driven back to the starting position, which is determined by the mechanical stop member 28.

The cutting assembly 7 (FIGS. 16 and 17) comprises a stationary cutting tool 31, which has to its form corresponds to the stationary clamping tool 17, i.e. it is provided with a recess 32, which is open toward the binding object 4 and at the bottom deflects substantially perpendicularly to form a groove 33. In the inner portion of said groove 33 the wire passes from the feed mechanism and, after having been guided one revolution about the binding object, passes through the outer portion of the groove 33. Above said stationary cutting tool 3] and co-acting therewith a movable cutting tool 34 is arranged, which is provided with a through hole 35 from the wire from the feed mechanism. Said hole is located in starting position directly in front of the inner portion of the groove 33. The wire is guided from the feed mechanism 1 through a stationary guide bar 36 disposed immediately before the cutting assembly into the hole 35 of the movable cutting tool 31. The movable cutting tool can by means of a cylinder 37 be displaced perpendicularly to the groove 33 for cutting off the wire.

The binding machine operates as follows. When the binding object 4, for example in the form of a wire coil, has been placed within the wire guide track 3 and been compressed, the feed mechanism 1 starts and feeds in binding wire through the cutting, twisting and clamping assemblies 7 and, respectively, 6 and 5, and through the wire guide track 3. Thereafter the wire again passes through the cutting assembly 7 and twisting assembly 6 and finally is stopped in the clamping assembly 5. As the driven feed wheel 10 is not stopped immediately, the wire presses outward the sensing device 12, which thereby actuates a limit switch to give an impulse for wire clamping in the clamping assembly 5. The clamping is indicated by a pressure gauge, which senses the pressure increase in the cylinder 21 controlling the movable clamping tool 20. Said pressure gauge sends an impulse to the cylinder 15, which opens the cover 3a for the guide bar located above the binding unit and for the cylinder, which moves the carriage 8 with the binding unit inward to the binding object, whereafter the wire is stretched by reversing the feed wheel 10. The stretching is indicated by a pressure gauge or a time relay, which is set on a time sufficient for the stretching. The impulse initiates the twisting assembly to start its movement by means of the cylinder 26, which implies that the slot 24 of the twisting roller 23 encloses the two parallel wire strands. A limit switch delivers an impulse for twisting as described above. When the limit switch 30 indicates the restoring of the excess twisting, an impulse is given to the cylinder 21 for releasing the clamped wire end and to the cylinder 37 for cutting off the wire from the feed mechanism 1. The cutting is indicated by a limit switch, the impulse of which causes the cutting tool to return and the twisting assembly 6 to move back to the starting position. During this movement, the forward edge of the wire guide cover 22 of the twisting assembly pushes the completely twisted tie out of the grooves 18, 33 in the stationary clamping and, respectively, cutting tool 16 and, respectively, 31, which grooves at the twisting have served as thrusts. A limit switch indicates that the twisting assembly has re-assumed the starting position and gives impulse both for reversing the twisting roller 23 to the starting position, which is determined by the mechanical stop member 28 of the index 27, and for returning the binding unit on the carriage 8 to the start ing position. Finally, the cylinder-operated cover 3a of the wire guide track is closed.

I claim:

1. A binding machine for binding bundles of wire rod material by binding with wire, comprising a device for feeding and stretching the wire, the wire being fed through assemblies arranged consecutively in series for cutting (7), twisting (6), clamping (5) and a track (3) for guiding the wire around a bundle of rods (4) to be bound, said cutting assembly (7) and said twisting assembly (6) also being adapted to guide the wire subsequent to its feed around such bundle into said clamping assembly (5) which latter is adapted to stop and clamp the free wire end. said clamping end, respectively, cutting assembly (5 and 7, respectively) comprising a pair of clamping and. respectively, cutting tools (16, and, respectively 31, 34) and guide grooves (18 and. respectively. 33) for the wire, which guide grooves also serve as thrusts and for longitudinally defining the tie during the twisting of the wire in the twisting assembly (6). which comprises a rotary twisting roller (23) having a radial slot (24) for twisting the wire strands, in which organization said guide grooves (18, 33) are arranged transverse to the plane of said wire guide track (3) and have recesses (17, 32) at one end open to said bundle (4), the twisting assembly (6) besides the twisting roller (23) also including an openable wire guide cover (22) provided with wire passages, which in the wire feed are disposed directly in front of the guide grooves (18, 33), the twisting assembly being movable between a wire feed position and a twisting position, said cover (22) being adapted upon the movement of the twisting assembly to open to pass out the wire strands and upon return movement to expose the com- 6 pletely twisted tie by pushing it from the guide grooves (18, 33) out into the recesses (17, 32).

2. A binding machine as defined in claim 1, wherein the twisting assembly (6) is pivoted about an axle (25) disposed spaced from the cover (22) and twisting roller (23).

3. A binding machine as defined in claim I, in which the rotation of the twisting roller (23) is determined by an index wheel (27) which is adapted first to stop the twisting subsequent to an excess twisting having taken place in relation to a full number of twisting revolutions, which excess twisting corresponds to the inherent spring-back of the tie, and thereafter to reverse the twisting roller (23) to the nearest full number of twisting revolutions.

4. A binding machine as defined in claim 1, wherein the assemblies for feeding (l), clamping (5), twisting (6) and cutting (7) are combined into a binding unit which is movable toward and away from such bundle 

1. A binding machine for binding bundles of wire rod material by binding with wire, comprising a device for feeding and stretching the wire, the wire being fed through assemblies arranged consecutively in series for cutting (7), twisting (6), clamping (5) and a track (3) for guiding the wire around a bundle of rods (4) to be bound, said cutting assembly (7) and said twisting assembly (6) also being adapted to guide the wire subsequent to its feed around such bundle into said clamping assembly (5) which latter is adapted to stop and clamp the free wire end, said clamping end, respectively, cutting assembly (5 and 7, respectively) comprising a pair of clamping and, respectively, cutting tools (16, 20 and, respectively 31, 34) and guide grooves (18 and, respectively, 33) for the wire, which guide grooves also serve as thrusts and for longitudinally defining the tie during the twisting of the wire in the twisting assembly (6), which comprises a rotary twisting roller (23) having a radial slot (24) for twisting the wire strands, in which organization said guide grooves (18, 33) are arranged transverse to the plane of said wire guide track (3) and have recesses (17, 32) at one end open to said bundle (4), the twisting assembly (6) besides the twisting roller (23) also including an openable wire guide cover (22) provided with wire passages, which in the wire feed are disposed directly in front of the guide grooves (18, 33), the twistiNg assembly being movable between a wire feed position and a twisting position, said cover (22) being adapted upon the movement of the twisting assembly to open to pass out the wire strands and upon return movement to expose the completely twisted tie by pushing it from the guide grooves (18, 33) out into the recesses (17, 32).
 2. A binding machine as defined in claim 1, wherein the twisting assembly (6) is pivoted about an axle (25) disposed spaced from the cover (22) and twisting roller (23).
 3. A binding machine as defined in claim 1, in which the rotation of the twisting roller (23) is determined by an index wheel (27) which is adapted first to stop the twisting subsequent to an excess twisting having taken place in relation to a full number of twisting revolutions, which excess twisting corresponds to the inherent spring-back of the tie, and thereafter to reverse the twisting roller (23) to the nearest full number of twisting revolutions.
 4. A binding machine as defined in claim 1, wherein the assemblies for feeding (1), clamping (5), twisting (6) and cutting (7) are combined into a binding unit which is movable toward and away from such bundle (4). 